Columbia Climate School Welcomes Inaugural Cohort of Climate, Earth and Society Distinguished Fellows
The Columbia Climate School is pleased to announce the inaugural cohort of its Climate, Earth and Society Distinguished Fellows Program, a new initiative that brings accomplished leaders from across sectors into the Columbia community to share their expertise, engage with students and faculty, and contribute to critical conversations about the future of our planet.
The program is designed to foster interdisciplinary exchange and expand opportunities for learning and collaboration across the Climate School. Through lectures, discussions, mentorship and other activities, Fellows enrich the school’s teaching, research and public engagement efforts while helping address some of the most pressing climate and sustainability challenges facing society today.
“The Distinguished Fellows Program reflects the Columbia Climate School’s commitment to advancing climate solutions through research, education and impact. By bringing accomplished leaders into our community, the program creates opportunities for our students, researchers and faculty to engage with new perspectives, learn from experience and explore how knowledge can be translated into meaningful action. I am delighted to welcome this year’s Fellows and to have them contribute to the intellectual life of the school,” said Alexis Abramson, dean of the Columbia Climate School.
“At the Columbia Climate School, we recognize that addressing the climate challenge requires collaboration across disciplines and sectors. This year’s Distinguished Fellows cohort reflects that conviction, bringing together leaders in climate science, finance, public policy, entrepreneurship and the arts. We look forward to engaging with them over the coming year and to the conversations and collaborations their perspectives will inspire across our community,” added Jeffrey Shaman, senior vice dean of the Columbia Climate School.
The inaugural cohort includes five exceptional individuals whose work spans climate science, public service, art, finance and entrepreneurship:
Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala
Aggarwala served as New York City’s chief climate officer and commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection from 2022 to 2026. A longtime leader in urban sustainability and infrastructure, he founded the city’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Bloomberg and developed PlaNYC, a landmark blueprint for a more resilient and sustainable city. Aggarwala also led the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and worked in philanthropy and technology. He teaches urban policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Justin Brice Guariglia
Guariglia is a visual artist whose practice investigates the fragile and shifting ecologies that sustain life on Earth. Drawing on dialogues with scientists, philosophers and poets, his work bears witness to landscapes, systems and cycles that are rapidly changing, disappearing or collapsing—changes largely invisible to most of us. Seducing viewers through beauty, Guariglia opens space for reflection, agency and new ways of understanding our relationship to the living world.
Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis
Grabowski-Mitsotakis is a creative consultant and entrepreneur, recognized for her contributions to promoting craftsmanship, sustainable business practices and creative entrepreneurship. With a rich background in investment banking, asset management and the arts, she has successfully transitioned her career to foster innovation in the creative economy. Her work focuses on the preservation of cultural heritage, the support and upscaling for artisans and advocacy for sustainable business models.
Sarah B. Kapnick
Kapnick is global head of climate advisory in the Commercial and Investment Bank at J.P. Morgan, where she leads the firm’s climate thought leadership and advises clients at the intersection of finance, climate science and national security. Prior to her current role, Kapnick was chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), responsible for guiding the programmatic focus of NOAA’s science and technology priorities. She spent a decade at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, leading research and development on seasonal to decadal variability and prediction. Kapnick serves on the nonprofit boards of Climate Central and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Additionally, she serves on the scientific advisory panels for the World Meteorological Organization and Food Security Leadership Council.
Miranda Massie
Massie is the founding director of the Climate Museum. She left an award-winning career in social justice litigation to launch the Museum, which in 2018 had its breakout year of public programming. The Museum has since presented arts-centered exhibitions and other free cultural programs to build agency and community on climate throughout New York City and beyond. Massie has pioneered an approach to community engagement with climate that blends arts, storytelling, culture, and activism, successfully empowering visitors in the large majority who are worried about climate change but unsure what to do. She is recognized as a national and international leader at the crossroads of culture and climate change.
The Columbia Climate School looks forward to the contributions these Fellows will make throughout the coming year and to the opportunities they will create for collaboration, learning and impact across the university.
To learn more about the Climate, Earth and Society Distinguished Fellows Program and this year’s cohort, visit the program webpage.